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Portage Lake Woman Pleads Guilty To Theft of Hunting and Fishing License Fees
September 12, 2011
AUGUSTA ? Attorney General William J. Schneider announced today that a sales agent of hunting and fishing licenses for the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife will serve 30 days in jail for misappropriating license fees that were supposed to be turned over to IF&W.
Lynn C. Taylor, 64, of Portage Lake, pleaded guilty to theft on September 9, 2011 in Kennebec County Superior Court. Under a plea agreement, she will be required to repay over $16,000 in fees within six months of her plea. If she fails to make the restitution, she faces a sentence of up to five years in prison.
Taylor, owner of Coffin?s General Store in Portage Lake, signed an agreement in 2006 to become a license and registration agent with IF&W. The contract provided that money collected from the sale of licenses, permits and registrations belonged to the state of Maine and would not be used by the agent for business or personal purposes.
From November 1, 2007 through March 31, 2008 Taylor failed to turn over $16,752 in fees.
?We entrust certain individuals to act as sales agents to sell hunting, fishing and other licenses on behalf of IF&W to the general public,? said Attorney General Schneider. ?The fees collected for those licenses are necessary for the enforcement of fish and game laws and the protection of Maine?s wildlife resources. License fees do not belong to the licensing agent, but to the state, and failure to turn over the fees amounts to theft.?
License and permit applications are available online, at the main IF&W office in Augusta or at more than 840 licensing partners throughout Maine. For more information contact the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife:
284 State Street 41 State House Station Augusta, ME 04333-0041
TELEPHONE: (207) 287-8000 FAX: (207) 287-6395
WEBSITES: http://www.maine.gov/ifw
This case was investigated by the Maine Warden Service Investigation Unit. Assistant Attorney General Leanne Robbin handled this matter for Attorney General Schneider?s Financial Crimes and Civil Rights Division.
